The present invention relates to plastic blow-molded containers having opposed front and rear label panels and opposed grip panels, and more particularly, the present invention relates to hot-fillable grip containers having at least one label panel which is reinforced to resist buckling/barreling and which readily permits the drainage of liquid from an exterior surface thereof to enhance label adhesion.
Plastic blow-molded containers, such as beverage containers and wide-mouth jars, have been provided with opposed inset grips to provide relatively large-capacity, consumer-friendly packages that are easy to grip with one hand. For example, juice bottles may be provided in 64 ounce, 96 ounce, or greater capacities, and wide mouth jars containing sauces or like food products may be provided in 20 ounce, 32 ounce, 48 ounce or greater capacities. The use of opposed inset grips enable ready handling of such containers.
Typically, front and rear panels extend between the inset grips and provide areas to which labels are adhered. Thus, a substantially rectangular front label is secured with an adhesive to the front label panel and a separate substantially rectangular rear label is secured with an adhesive to the rear label panel. Typically, the label panels are provided with a plurality of circumferentially-extending, axially-spaced inset ribs to provide hoop strength and rigidify the label panels so that the labels are prominently displayed on the containers.
Examples of blow-molded grip containers which can be hot-filled are provided by U.S. Pat. No.: 5,598,941 issued to Semersky et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,937 and D.344,457 issued to Prevot et al.; D.420,593 issued to Denner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,105 issued to Krishnakumar et al.; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,141,121 and 5,141,120 issued to Brown et al. Examples of non-hot-fillable blow-molded grip containers are provided by U.S. Pat. Nos.: 5,758,790, D.393,201 and D.379,763 issued to Ewing, Jr.; D.385,497 and D.382,485 issued to Krishnakumar et al.; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,199,587, 5,165,557 and 4,890,752 issued to Ota et al,. All of these containers disclose label panels reinforced with a plurality of circumferentially-extending, axially-spaced inset ribs.
A problem experienced with hot-fill containers is that, after hot-filling, the containers are typically processed through a dunk tank or spray tunnel to accelerate cooling of the containers and their contents so that labels can be secured to the containers with an adhesive. Sometimes cooling liquid, typically water, collects in the circumferentially-extending, axially-spaced inset reinforcement ribs located in the label panels and inhibits proper label application, thereby resulting in an undesirable product display.
In addition, containers are subjected to various forces during high speed hot-filling, cooling, and handling. While the above referenced containers having circumferentially-extending ribs provide desired hoop strength, such ribs do not provide significant resistance to barreling or buckling of the container. For example, during high speed filling or when a significant top load is applied to the container, the label panels may bow outwardly and assume a barrel-like shape in elevation. Alternatively, the label panels, as viewed in an elevation, may buckle inward due to the forces created in the sealed container as its contents cool. In either case, barreling or buckling of the label panel prevents proper label adhesion and prevents the label from being prominently displayed on the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,417 issued to Cheng et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,688 issued to Eberle et al. disclose label panels having so-called drainage ports utilized on relatively slender bottles which have relatively small diameters not requiring grips.
The Cheng et al. ""417 patent discloses a container having a smooth annular label panel with a series of undulating interconnected grooves extending circumferentially on and below the annular label panel. The undulating grooves provide paths for condensate to drain from underneath a sleeve-shaped label to reduce the potential for condensation-induced delamination. The bottle disclosed in the Cheng et al. ""417 patent has a slenderness ratio (ie. height-to-width ratio) of about 3.2:1 and a diameter which can be readily grasped by one hand.
The Eberle et al. ""688 patent discloses a container having an annular label panel with six identical and equally spaced-apart flex panels. A spaced apart pair of ramp-shaped projections extend outwardly below each flex panel to provide a drainage path therebetween for permitting liquids to drain from underneath a sleeve-shaped label. The bottle disclosed in the Eberle et al. ""688 patent has a slenderness ratio (ie. height-to-width ratio) of about 2.3:1, a capacity of 12 ounces, and a diameter of 60 mm which can readily be grasped by one hand.
A wide mouth jar having an annular label panel and sleeve-shaped label applied thereto is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,244 issued to Darr. The annular label panel has a plurality of spaced apart annular circumferential grooves and a plurality of axially-extending, outwardly-projecting ribs. The vertical ribs and horizontal grooves combine to define a plurality of rectangular flex panels capable of flexing inwardly to accommodate vacuum induced shrinkage of a hot-filled and sealed container. The outwardly projecting ribs also ensure that the label does not directly contact the entire surface of the annular label panel. However, while this structure may enable some liquid to drain from the flex panels into the subjacent annular groove, it does not provide for the escape of liquid which may be trapped in the annular grooves.
While the above referenced grip, and non-grip, blow-molded containers may function satisfactorily for their intended purposes, there is a need for a grip container having a front label panel which is reinforced to resist barreling and buckling and which permits proper drainage of liquid so that labels can be properly adhered to, and prominently displayed on, the label panel. Preferably, the label panels are arcuate, include a series of circumferentially-extending, axially-spaced inset stiffening ribs, and prominently display substantially rectangular-shaped labels secured to the label panels with an adhesive. In addition, preferably the container has a relatively large capacity and a diameter which requires the use of opposed inset grips to enable ready one-hand handling of the container.
With the foregoing in mind, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a container having an opposed pair of grips and an arcuate front label panel on which a label can be adhesively applied and prominently displayed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a grip container having a label panel which is reinforced to resist barreling and buckling.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a grip container having a label panel which provides drainage paths for liquid located on its exterior surface to enable better adhesion of a label to the label panel.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced, drainable label panel structure for use on a relatively large capacity, hot-fillable grip bottle and grip wide mouth jar.
More specifically, the present invention provides a hot-fillable container having a pair of opposed inset grips and an arcuate front label panel which includes a series of alternating circumferentially-extending grooves and lands. Each land has at least one transversely-extending inset channel interconnecting to adjacent circumferentially-extending grooves located directly above and below the land. Preferably, the channels and grooves extend inward to an equal depth into the container to enable fluid to readily drain from an exterior surface of the label panel. In addition, preferably the transversely extending channels are axially disposed to provide an anti-barreling and anti-buckling function.